Alice Springs to Oodnadatta via Old Ghan Line

We did it with a camper trailer no problems at all. The track can get quite corrugated & keep an eye out for railway spikes.
Other than that, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hi did this same trip a couple years ago and can't imagine the track getting any better,bloody rough but take it easy you should be right.We also towed a camper just take it slow heaps of corrugations.

Happy travels

SCOOF

I came from the south in May and found the track very corrugated in places but otherwise fine, no detours except for crossing large culverts/creeks where the railway bridges have been removed.
No probs with camper going thru as I would rate this track as easy,just beware of discarded rail line spikes,Have a look at my rigpics and you'll see what I mean


Shane

We drove down the Old Ghan line about a month ago. It can be corragated with bits of old sleeper occassionally. There are a lot of railway spikes all over the place. The diversions are well travelled and you should have no problems. You rarely need to move off of the track. Most diversions are where there used to be bridges. We didn't have a camper but I wouldn't think it would be a big problem. There is an old access track along side the old track. This is a completely different kettle of fish. It is undulating so you need to travel slowly and often has patches of soft sand and some steep dunes. There are a quite few spots that looked like good camp spots along the way. We travelled the whole thing with no flats but others I have spoken to have had 4 or 5 punctures so be prepared.

Be aware that many roads marked on the map around Maryvale Station are actually private station tracks. If you go from Alice to Chambers Pillar then to the Ghan Track you need to back track from Maryvale station towards Alice a few kms to get on the Ghan track. There is a sign before Maryvale when travelling from Alice referring to the Historic Old Ghan Railway 4wd route or something similar.

As always drive to the conditions and you should be right. We drove along it in a day but as I said there looked to be plenty of good camp spots. If I remember correctly Finke is also a dry town.

Steve

Gday,
Idont know the track very well South of Finke, but North of Finke you wont have any trouble.
You really shouldnt be on the track between Alice and Maryvale turn off (Rodinga Siding) as its private property, bloody rough and dangerous because its more like a motorbike track than a road. (The un written law on the track between Alice and Deep Well is, you can travel South before lunch and North after lunch)
After Rodinga the service road follows right next to the track all the way to Finke. Some sections of this the track is better than the road and some sections the opposite. You will find your self getting sick of the corrugations and going down on to the road and then getting sick of the woops and going back up to the track. Either way you shouldnt have any dramas. If you go to Chambers Pillar, their is a track that goes from Maryvale across to Bundooma (South of Rodinga) which saves you back tracking from Maryvale to Rodinga on your way back. If you want to go that way, go into Maryvale and ask the locals to point you in the right direction.

Have fun
Cheers
Hairy

Others have commented on the track re recent times - would like to recommend Charlotte Waters, Abminga, Eringa after Finke as you go south - more interesting country than the Mt Dare /Dalhousie run in my view. Eringa was the first station that Sir Sidney Kidman took up - start of his cattle empire - interpretive signage is there beside the homestead ruins and waterhole.
Some of the roads are very stony, but if you take it easy and soften the tyre pressures, it can be trouble free run.

Like most would say ( I havent read the replys so far....) it can be very corrigated at the best of times - especially after mt dare. It
was the worse part of our trip (might I say that it was last year).

Ood track is / was like a highway - bloody beautiful to drive on - its wide, smooth (compared to what we had been on) .

Towing - you'll be right - just take 'er easy!!

Have a good'n'

Laura

russ and sue ,
just come back from that trip last weekend ,
you will tow ya camper trailer ok ,its a bit rough and corrugated in places and theres a bit of sand but easily travelled .
Watch out for the sleeper spikes in the sand on both the road and the graded edges .
enjoy ya trip .
mechpete.

Just travelled the track from Oodnadatta through Finke to Alice about a week ago. Alice to Rodinga was very good; the grader was working on long stretches so it was like a freeway after the corrugated sections. Rodinga siding to Finke is very corrugated, the worst in my 6500 kms trip but as others have said, if you reduce tyre pressures and speed, then you'll be fine. Finke through to Hamilton HS was excellent, take it slow from Charlotte Waters to Eringa - road was quite ok, just washaways that were no problem at 30-50 kph. Bit rough with corrugations between Hamilton and Oodnadatta but no problems. You'll be fine with your camper trailer.

Eringa is a lovely place to camp beside the waterhole. Wish I'd camped there instead of Oodnadatta which I found was a dilapidated untidy town. Abminga siding is worth a look. It was here that Dr Madigan decamped from the train and set off across the Simpson. Have a great trip. It's fascinating country

Peter

Thanks everyone who took the trouble to reply. We are convinced that we will follow this route after reading the comments. Thanks also to those who recommended places to look at on the way.

We're off next Thursday.

Cheers,

Russ.

Hope you had a great trip. We are about to do the trip in reverse in about three weeks. Make sure you call into Mt Dare and say hello, we were there last year for a couple of months and loved it.